


Clinging to Hope

by addison116



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-10
Updated: 2014-01-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 06:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1077751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addison116/pseuds/addison116
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allison Crane has been surviving on her own since the beginning of the apocalypse.  Barely clinging to life she stumbles across a source of hope.  Will she be saved, or will she be left on her own?</p><p> </p><p>(Set after the season 4 mid-season finale.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Losing

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own or have the rights to any of The Walking Dead characters.
> 
> Authors Note: This is my very first fan fiction of any kind, so any and all comments are welcomed, and all constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy!

Ch.1

The sun was shining through the branches, waking me from my deep sleep of nightmares. My back ached; actually, my entire body seemed to be aching. I had been lucky enough to find a tree that had a branch wide enough to sleep on last night. As I climbed down from the branch that was only a few feet above the ground my arms gave way and I fell, adding to the aches I was already experiencing.

My body was weak, barely able to cling to any ounce of energy left in me, but I knew that I needed to move. I had run out of water a few days ago and I wasn’t having any luck at finding any, and the berries that I had picked weren’t enough to sustain me. I grabbed my bag and flung it across my back and began to walk. I wasn’t sure what direction I was walking, maybe this was the way I had come from yesterday, I wasn’t sure. My thoughts were interrupted by the sounds that had become so familiar; the shuffle of feat, the low moans of the hungry, the occasional snapping of a branch. I took off in a dead sprint, which was probably more of a fast jog considering the condition my body was in. I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could, making sure there was a large distance between me and the beasts that now walked this earth, then I quit, more so because I was out of the breath than I was confident of the distance between the walker and I.

I continued walking; desperately searching for any sign of water, but my luck hadn’t seemed to change. I am so hot, and my body didn’t have anything left to sweat out to cool me down, so I sat down, hoping that a break would allow my body to cool and my head to clear. I glanced up at the sky, by the position of the sun it must be around noon. I had slept later than usual.  
I heard branches break and was beginning to get ready to run when I looked in the direction the sound had come from. My body froze, unable to move, in disbelief of what I saw. A few hundreds yards away were three men. Their movements were fluid and their skin was peachy, a dead giveaway that these men weren’t walkers but were humans. I stood there a few minutes unsure of what to do, almost positive that these men were just hallucinations caused from the dehydration. Except this hallucination was different than the others my reality had become accustomed to. I had never seen these men before, most of my hallucinations consisted of people I knew who were dead, either that or things I couldn’t even begin to explain.

A million thoughts were racing through my mind. Should I turn around and head the other way? My previous run-ins with humans since the world spiraled out of control hadn’t ended very well. The last time I had seen humans was a few months ago. They ransacked what little resources I had left, and I have a feeling they had other plans for me, but I ran when I got a chance and didn’t look back. Should I just stay here and see if they notice me? No, of course they won’t notice me, they are heading away from me. That’s when I decided to take a leap of faith and follow them.


	2. Finding Hope

Ch.2

I made sure to keep my distance, to stay behind trees so that they couldn’t see me. I was taking mental notes of these three, deciding how to best approach the situation. Two of the men looked to be in their mid to late 30’s. One of them had a crossbow slung across his back, obscuring the wings on his vest; the other was tall and had wavy brown hair, from what I could see it looked like he had a short beard, he was carrying three dead rabbits, but he also had a gun in a holster. The third man appeared to be in his early 20’s. He was either Asian or Korean, but I wasn’t sure which, and like the others, he also had a weapon, a small gun he loosely clutched in his right hand. The three men were talking to each other, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

I continued following them, and didn’t realize how close I had gotten until a branch snapped under my foot. I quickly hid behind the tree, heart racing, hoping they hadn’t noticed. I must have been a few yards from them, 30 yards at the most. That’s when one of them spoke.

“Alright now, you come out from behin’ that tree.”

“We don’t want to hurt you, just come out so we can talk.”

I didn’t know what to do. Terrified of what was going to happen I stayed there a few seconds. I didn’t want a repeat of what had happened so many times before, but these men sounded different. Their voiced weren’t laced with hatred and evil, but they remained calmed and unwavering. That’s when I stepped out from behind the tree, hands up. My right arm ached and for some reason wasn;t able to be raised quite as high as my left. The three men looked at me quizzically, they’re eyes glancing over every inch of me, almost like they couldn’t believe what was standing in front of them.

“What’s your name?” asked the man who now had his crossbow pointed straight at me.

“Allli-….My name is Allison.” My voice was dry with fear and I stumbled over my words. They must have been able to sense my fear because when the man spoke next his voice was a little softer, but the crossbow remained pointed at me.

“What’re you doing following us?”

“I-I don’t know. Please don’t hurt me. I don’t have anything that you’d want, here you can check for yourself.” I slung the book bag off of my shoulder as memories came rushing back to me, fear building up with everyone, making me instantly regret my decision to follow them. The men just stared at me, not sure what to make of the girl standing before them, who now most likely had a few stray tears running down her cheek.

“We don’t want anything that you have, and we won’t hurt you.” The man holding the rabbits was the one to speak this time. He held his hand out slightly in front of him, seemingly trying to calm me down. “Now what happened to your arm there? Are you hurt?”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I followed his gaze to my right arm. Just below the shoulder there was a large cut and blood was running down my arm. “I fell on some rocks this morning and cut myself.” My voice was shaky and the answer came out slowly. Honestly, I had no idea what had happened, and my answer was a complete lie. I knew I fell, but I couldn’t remember if that had been this morning or yesterday; with exhaustion consuming me the days seemed to blur together. I didn’t even know I had been injured until now, but was now aware of the pain.

The man started approaching me, and with every step forward he took I took one back. He stopped and turned to the man still holding the crossbow. “Daryl, why don’t you put that down? I think you’re scaring her.” The man he spoke to, Daryl, nodded and immediately put the bow down. I know that he thought that the bow was what was scaring me, but I would have rather have taken an arrow to the head than what I had seen some people do to others on the road. The man walked up to me and looked me in the eyes before he gently touched my shoulder, looking over the wound before looking back to the others. “It’s not too bad but it definitely needs to be stitched up.” He walked back over to the other two men and they seemed to be talking something over. 

I stood there, a little confused and shocked, but was able to catch a few things they said. They were talking about me, about what to do. It sounded as if they had had bad experiences before too, but I wasn’t sure exactly what they were, but whatever it was it made them weary of outsiders.

Daryl was the first to speak. “Where’s the rest of your group?”

I just looked at them surprised. Rest of my group? There was nobody else, it was just me. “It’s only me, I don’t have anybody else.” This seemed to shock them, and I don’t think they completely believed me.

“Can you walk fine?”

“Yeah.” To be truthful I wasn’t sure if I could walk any further. My legs felt like jello and my head was beginning to spin.

“Well come on then, we are about a mile from the truck.”


	3. The Journey

Ch.3

As we walked to the truck they made sure to always have one set of eyes on me and another on our surroundings. They asked me more quizzical questions, more to make small talk than to gain information. I learned that the man who had looked at my shoulder was named Rick and the Asian man was Glenn. That was all I was able to find out before my hearing faded and my vision became cloudy, my legs giving way beneath me. The man who had held the crossbow at me caught me before I was able to fall to the ground, and in one fluid motion he picked me up.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m, I’ll be fine. Just put me down, I can walk the rest of the way.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” said Rick. “We need to get you to the truck, and you don’t seem to be in any condition to be walking.”

And with that any protest I had in me was easily quelled. I had nothing I could say to convince him, or the other two men, that I could walk, because I knew they were right. The second he would put me down I would fall to the ground. So I let Daryl carry me the rest of the way, which was about half a mile.

They had parked the truck in some little parking lot that seemed to be for a park, or what was once a park. The swing set was rusted and there was only one swing that actually had a seat. The slide had collapsed long ago and was now a heap of metal. Before I knew it Daryl had set me on the bed of the truck. He then handed me a bottle of water. I looked at him hesitantly before taking it. I took a sip and then went to hand it back to him but he pushed it back to me. I didn’t question him and guzzled the remainder of the water. I could instantly feel the hydration my body had been craving start to take affect. My mouth was no longer dry and body seemed to cool down a few degrees.

I heard a door shut and saw Glenn come around to where I was sitting. He had something in his hand; it looked like a ripped piece of a shirt. He motioned to my arm and I looked down. 

“I’m just going to wrap this around it to slow the bleeding. We will have someone look at it when we get back.” And with that he started wrapping the piece of cloth around my arm. When he was done he went over and talked to Rick.

“You ready?” Rick asked.

“For what?”

“We’re going back to our camp; you’re coming with us.” He didn’t say anything more, he only motioned for me to get into the truck. 

Daryl helped me off of the bed and I got in the truck. Rick got behind the wheel, and Daryl sat on the other side of me. Glenn took a seat in the back. The ride was silent, nobody talking or even looking at each other. The tension in the air was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. I knew they were hesitant to take me back with them, but I also knew that they weren’t willing to leave me off on my own.

As we rounded a corner I saw what they called their camp. There was a house that looked to be boarded up; it was set on acres upon acres of land. The burnt remains of what looked like a barn sat a few hundred yards from the house. A bus was parked outside of the house, along with a multitude of other cars, and there were a few tents set up in the yard. Despite the evidence of a large group of people, I didn’t see anyone outside.

Rick pulled up next to one of the cars and got out. I followed Daryl out of the truck and just stood there. That’s when I saw the first signs of life. Through the boarded up windows I saw movement, and then I heard the front door slam shut. A younger boy was the first out of the door, and Rick went and hugged him. The boy was followed by others, all looking from the Daryl, Rick, and Glenn to me, all wearing the same questioning face.


	4. Overwhelmed

Ch.4

Before anyone had anytime to ask any questions Rick ushered me to the house. He was looking for someone, but I didn’t know who. I was so overwhelmed by the amount of people I saw that my head was spinning. There had to have been at least 20 people, women, men, children, and the elderly. When was the last time I had seen so many people? It had to have been before this apocalypse. Rick led me to a table and pulled out a chair. I was now aware that everyone had left the house, all but a select few.

A man sat down next to me and began to unwrap the cloth Glenn had wrapped around my arm. Without thinking I pulled away from him, and he instantly stopped what he was doing and looked to Rick.

“He’s not going to hurt you. He can stich that up.”

“My name’s Bob. I was a medic in the military. By the looks of it you have lost a lot of blood. We need to get this cleaned before it can get infected.” Before he even gave me time to comprehend his words he was back to working on my arm.

Aside from Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Bob, there were two other people in the room, both women. One looked to be around Glenn’s age and had black frizzy hair pulled back into a ponytail, the other woman was older, probably in her mid 40’s, her hair was short and gray. They didn’t say anything, only watched as Bob stitched up my arm, giving the occasional glance to the others in the room. I squirmed when the alcohol hit the cut, it stung even more than I had thought it would, but Bob continued, unaffected by my instance of pain.

“Sasha, Carol, can I talk to you for a minute?” As soon as Rick said this everyone followed him out of the room, and I was left with Bob.

We sat in silence, Bob completely consumed with what he was doing, and me too scared to move, fearing the needle would cause more damage than good. And even though they were out of the room, I could still hear the conversation taking place between those who had left.

“Where’d you find her?” The voice was soft, definitely a woman’s, but I wasn’t sure whose.

“She was following us in the woods.” I could tell that that was Glenn speaking.

Daryl was the next to speak. “Said she isn’t with a group, that it’s just her.”

“Do you believe her?” This time it was the other woman speaking.

“I’m not sure. She’s in pretty bad shape. Daryl had to carry her to the truck. We couldn’t leave her out there in the condition she’s in.”

“What are we going to do with her?” 

“I’m not sure yet. I think we need to learn more about her, see if she is telling the truth.”

“Did you ask her the three questions?”

“No, not yet.”

With that the conversation was over, and all five of them returned to the room. Bob was just finishing up with the stitches when Rick started talking to me.

“You said you’re all by yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“How long have you been by yourself?”

“Since the beginning.” Everyone in the room stood quiet, they were all in shock, none of them believed me. “I was at home with my family when the news first broke. We were watching the coverage about it, about how the dead were rising again. My parents weren’t sure if we should stay where we were or if we should head somewhere else.” I lowered my head as the tears that had been swelling in my eyes began to silently roll down my face. “They waited a few days, but by then it had spread to my town. They thought it would be best if we left, so we packed up the car and left just before the sun started to set. None of us realized how bad it had gotten. All of our neighbors had either become victims or had had the sense to leave before it got bad. We started driving down our street, but we couldn’t get through because abandoned cars were blocking the way, so my dad turned around and started going the other way. We didn’t make it far though. There were too many of them. They started to surround the car, and the windows started to break. My dad yelled for my brother and I to run. We hesitated; we didn’t know what to do. One of them bit my mother and they were starting to reach in towards my father. He yelled for us to run again, and we finally listened, but it was too late for my brother, because as soon as he opened the door they swarmed in. I grabbed my book bag and ran.”

By the time I had finished telling my story Bob was done stitching and wrapping my arm. I looked up and everyone just looked and me. They knew I wouldn’t make something like this up, but there was something else in their eyes. It was like my story had struck a nerve and they were all recalling their own stories, all reliving their own horrors.

“How have you been able to survive on your own?” I was surprised by who asked this. It was Glenn. He had only given me suspicious glares and had barely said two words to me.

“That night I ran to this spot my brother and I had always gone to when we were little. We had built a shelter out of some boards we had found. It was about a mile from my house and was in the woods. I thought I’d be safe there for a while, that the walkers wouldn’t wander that far, but I had to leave the next day. Since then I’ve been wandering around. I’ve stayed in a few houses, but I don’t like to do that because there always seems to be that stray walker who manages to make their way up the stairs. I prefer trees. They aren’t the most comfortable, but they keep you off of the ground and walkers can’t climb.”

Rick looked at me and then looked at everyone else in the room. They all gave a slight nod; they were all in some sort of agreement.

“How many walkers have you killed?” His voice changed to a tone of more seriousness.

I looked at him confused. This question seemed to come out of nowhere. “None, I haven’t killed any.”

“How many people have you killed?”

“I haven’t killed anyone, I may have hurt a few people along the way, but I’ve never killed anyone.”

“Why?”

“Because they were going to hurt me.”

With that Rick looked at me with approval and a small smile. He then simply walked out of the room, and most everyone followed, leaving only me and two others to sit in quiet.


	5. Introductions

Ch.5

They had figured out a way to get water running to the showers, they said they had done the same thing where they were at last, and for the first time since this thing started I took a shower. When they showed me where the shower was I didn’t know how to respond. I noticed that the mirror in the bathroom had been broken, but a shard of it still remained. I looked at myself in the broken mirror and was taken aback at how I looked. Sure, I’d seen my reflection in rivers and lakes, but I assumed the gruesome reflection was due to the ripples in the water. My cheeks were hollow and dark circles had formed under my eyes. My hair was a tangled mess despite having been kept in a braid or a ponytail. Dirt was smeared all over my face. 

I was interrupted by a girl who looked to be my age. She had blond hair and blue eyes. She laid something on the bed before she noticed me watching her.

“Oh, sorry, I was just brining you a change of clothes.” She looked me over quickly before continuing. “They look like they are about your size, they may be a little big, but once you gain a little weight they should fit just fine.”

“Thanks.” I gave her a small smile before she turned and disappeared.

I stepped into the shower and turned on the water. Even though the water wasn’t hot, the feeling of all of the dirt and grime rinsing off of me was refreshing. I washed my hair and was surprised by the scent of the coconut shampoo. Coconut was always the scent I gravitated to when buying shampoo, and now it was the same scent I was using. When I finally stepped out of the shower I felt as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. For the first time in months I was able to relax. I didn’t have to be constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for when I would have to pick up and run, because it always came to that.

I changed into the clothes the girl had brought me. I’m glad she thought to bring me a belt, because she was right, they were a little big, but other than that they fit just fine. I wasn’t sure where they had come from, but I had a feeling they were hers, and I was thankful she was letting me wear them. In the months since I’d been on my own my clothes had become a poor excuse for clothes. My shirt, which had once been a light blue, had turned into a light brown with bloodstains in random places. The jeans I had been wearing had holes up and down the legs, and the soles of my shoes were barely attached. When I saw this girl again I would have to thank her. 

I went to my back pack and pulled out one of the few things in it, my brush, and I began to meticulously work my way through the tangles. When my arm began to hurt I took a break before I started up again. When I finally had all of the tangles out I put my hair in a braid and went downstairs.

A few people were inside, but there more outside. I wasn’t sure where to go. I knew the names of a few people, but that’s about it, I didn’t know anything else about them. I suddenly felt out of place. As I neared the end of the stairs Rick thankfully came and pulled me aside. He brought me to the kitchen and asked if I was hungry. Before I had time to reply he set a plate of food down in front of me and a glass of water.

“You need to get a little meat on your bones.” He let out a little laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

“Thanks.” I just sat there, feeling a little awkward. 

Rick motioned to the food, “Eat.” As soon as he said that I started to eat. I think it was the rabbit he had carried back with us, but there was also some sort of vegetable I didn’t even bother to look at before eating. Before I knew it the plate was clean and my glass was empty.

“So how old are you?”

“I’m not really sure. What’s the month?”

“It’s July.”

“Then I’m 17.” I hadn’t even thought about my age in months, I hadn’t even realized that I didn’t know what month it was. Answering his question was bittersweet though, because with the knowledge of what month it was came the knowledge that my birthday had passed and I didn’t have my family there to celebrate it with me; I hadn’t even had the opportunity to celebrate it.

“Do you want me to show you around, introduce you to everyone?”

“That’d be nice.”

I could tell he was making an effort to get to know me, to make me feel like more a part of the group, but I couldn’t help but get the feeling that I was an outsider and people were still cautious around me. He introduced me to the two women who had stood in the room as Bob worked on my arm. The younger was Sasha, and the older woman was Carol. I was reintroduced to Daryl and Glenn, which I was thankful for since we had met under stressful circumstances. They now both seemed to be a little nicer and less rigid. I met a few of the kids, including Rick’s son Carl. Then I saw her, the girl who had brought me clothes. She was holding a baby, lightly bouncing her on her hip. She must be older than I though she was if she has a child.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Her?” he asked pointing to the blond, “That’s Beth.”

We walked over to where the girl was standing. She was next to a woman who looked to be in her mid 20’s and they were talking. 

“Maggie, Beth, I thought I’d introduce you to Allison. That there, that’s Judith, she’s my youngest.” He said, reaching down to the baby’s face and lightly brushing her cheek with his finger. So the baby wasn’t hers, it was Ricks. 

“Hey! It looks like they are a pretty close fit, huh?” 

“Yeah, thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Have you two already met?” Rick asked.

“I brought her a change of clothes. Hers looked a little ratted.”

After that Rick continued with the introductions. He told me a little about the group, how many of the people I was introduced to weren’t originally part of the group. He said that they tried to bring people in if they found them. He also told me that they recently loss a few of their own.

My eyes were starting to grow heavy and Rick must have been able to tell, because he immediately spoke up.

“You tired? It’s been a long day, you’ve been through quite a bit.”

“Just a little.” That was a lie. I was completely and utterly exhausted; just standing here was a challenge. And he was right; I’d been through a lot, but not only today, but every day since I’d been on my own. I’d barely been able to get any sleep the past few weeks, and the few minutes I’d actually drift off were restless, always afraid a walker was lurking somewhere near.

“How about we get you settled down inside. It’d probably be best if you got a little shut eye.”

He led me back into the house, but then deserted me to go and talk to someone, but I couldn’t see who. I just stood there, I wasn’t sure what to do. I felt out of place until Rick motioned for me to follow him. We went up the stairs and into a room.  
“You can sleep here for now.”

“Are you sure? I’m fine sleeping outside, I really wouldn’t mind.”

“No, you are sleeping here. Beth said you can sleep here tonight, she’ll just sleep in her sister’s room for now.” 

Of course this was Beth’s room. I was starting to feel as if a simple thank you wasn’t going to cut it. Not only had she brought me clothes to wear, temporarily given me her room, but she was also the only one who didn’t seem to be overly wary about me. Sure, Rick had made sure I had something to eat and was introduced to everyone, but his eyes followed me like a hawk and he wasn’t exactly welcoming. I’m guessing this had to do with something that happened in his past, maybe something that had a direct result on his group.

“If you need anything just let someone know.”

He began to leave the room but stopped when I began to speak. “Rick…thank you.” The words were soft and barely audible, but I knew he heard them.

He didn’t say anything, just looked from the ground to me, and then shut the door behind him. I waited until his footsteps had disappeared down the hall before I moved. I went to reach for my book bag but realized there was nothing in there I needed, so I instead plunked myself down on the bed. I could see that the sun was just now beginning it’s descent below the trees. I pulled the covers over me. When was the last time I had anything to cover up with? I was so used to shivering when it got dark that the covers felt weird, but I was happy they were there. Before I had anytime to think anything else my closed and I fell into a deep sleep.


	6. Nightmares

Ch.6 

While my sleep was deep, it was anything but peaceful. Nightmares once again filled my dreams. Flashes of those I loved dead and then rising again, their clothes stained with the blood of their victims haunted every moment of my sleep. Suddenly I was six years old again and my brother was ten. We were playing outside. The sun was shining down on us, warming every inch of our beings. The sky was cloudless. Bubbles filled the air as I waved my hand, the soap from the bubbles running down my arms. The music from an ice-cream truck can be heard in the distance, and my face lights up with a hopeful smile. Before I know it my brother and I are racing inside to my mother and father, begging them for money. As soon as they hand it to my brother we are out the door, my parents yelling at my brother to keep a close eye on me.

As usual I get the Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream bar while my brother gets a drumstick. Traces of melted ice cream can be seen on my face, and little drips of it are on my dress. My brother smiles at me and we start running for our forest escape. He is faster than me, and I am yelling for him to wait up, but he keeps running. I get to the little shelter we made but fall on my way inside, scraping my knee. I start crying. I don’t know where my brother is. Suddenly there is a ruffle outside and a twig breaks under the pressure of someone’s weight, and I am positive that it is my brother. As I go to look out and yell his name, a shadowy figure enters the shelter, a low moan coming from it’s mouth. He is wearing the same shorts and shirt that my brother was. I start telling him stop it, that he’s not really scaring me, and begin to back away as he gets closer. As he looks up I see his face. His skin is pale and his eyes have become a dull blue. Cuts are scattered along his body, and blood paints his face and clothes. Before I have anytime to react he lunges for me.

I wake myself up screaming, and I obviously wake everyone else in the house up too, because before I have time to realize it was a dream the bedroom door slams open and in rush two people. It’s Rick and Daryl. Tears are streaming down my face, and I’m not completely aware of my surroundings and the line between what’s reality and what was my dream blur. Daryl grabs my arms, and thinking that a human’s touch would bring me back to focus, he pulls me closer, my head buried in his chest and his hand cupping my head.

“Shhh, it’s okay, you’re safe.”

I am acutely aware of a third person standing at the doorway, a woman, but am not sure who it is. I can tell that she is standing there, scared and worried about what just happened.

“Maggie, can you get her a glass of water?” Rick’s voice is calm and unwavering. The shadowy figure disappears from the doorway.

Daryl stays there, holding me close as I continue to weep, my tears wetting his shirt. I don’t really even know this man; in fact, the only thing I know about him is that he is good with a crossbow and is strong. But the closeness of this stranger is comforting.

“Shhh, jus’ calm down now. It was jus’ a dream, you’re alright.” He continues to pat my head as he says this.

Maggie returns with the glass of water and awkwardly holds it out to me. When I don’t take it she sets it on the nightstand, but instead of leaving the room she slowly back away a few feet and then stops, looking on as I continue to cry.

The tears eventually stop falling, more so because there is nothing left to cry than me actually being calm. Daryl finally lets me go as the once blurry line between reality and my dream starts to clear. Rick hands me the water and I take it, my hand shaking as I put the glass to my lips. Daryl gives a nod to Rick, and Rick and Maggie exit the room, closing the door behind them. Daryl stays.

I’m not sure why he stayed, but through the door I can faintly hear the conversation taking place.

“Is she alright?” It’s a worried voice, a female’s voice, Maggie’s I think.

“I don’t know. She must have had some sort of dream, a nightmare. Daryl’s going to stay in there a little while, keep an eye on her, make sure she falls back to sleep and is alright.” There are a few minutes of silence before I hear footsteps and then doors gently closing.

Daryl stays in the room, but moves to the chair in the corner. He just watches me a while as I sit there, eyes wide-open, heart still racing, not moving. I’m not sure what to think of him staying behind; is it to comfort me or do they think I am dangerous? Could they be regretting their decision to take me in? My mind is racing, worried that they will send me on my way first thing tomorrow morning, and I barely notice Daryl say something to me.

“You alright, kid?”

I just look at him, not fully comprehending what he said. His voice was calm, almost sorrowful, when he spoke, so he couldn’t have been telling me my time here was limited.

“You gave us all a good scare there.” He gave a small laugh, almost amused at the events that had just occurred. “We’re used to wakin’ up to the sounds of walkers, not the sounds of a screamin’ girl.”

I stared at him; I didn’t know how to respond. I think he was trying to lighten the mood, and it must have been working a little because my heartbeat began to slow.

“You wanna talk about it?”

I shake my head no. I could barely make sense of it, so there was no way I would be able to put what had just happened into words. And I didn’t want him to think I was crazy, but I’m pretty sure everyone already did. He shook his head in understanding, not wanting to push me. He got up and walked over to me.

“Why don’t you lay back and go to sleep? I’ll stay here, make sure nothin’ happens.”

And with that I do as he says. I lie down and close my eyes. But every time I close my eyes I see my brother, the walker version of him, lunging towards me, so I decide to keep them open, too afraid to drift back into my nightmare. Despite my struggle, after a few hours the exhaustion wins and my eyes close and the rest of the night is spent in peace; no nightmares, no dreams, just pure sleep.

When I awake I noticed that the chair where Daryl was last night is empty. I get up and walk to the window, the sun is just beginning to rise; he must not have gotten much sleep last night. I contemplate whether to go down stairs and face the people I awoke last night or to stay locked up in this room. I decide that the latter isn’t an option and make my way to the stairs.

Most of the group is still asleep, only Daryl, Rick, Maggie, and Sasha are up. They are sitting at the kitchen table talking about nothing that seems important, eating something that I can’t quite make out. As I reach the bottom of the stairs they all look at me. Expecting strange stares and weird glances I am surprised by how welcoming they seem.

“Are you hungry?” Sasha asks.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Come on, you gotta get some meat on those bones of yours. You make me hungry jus’ lookin’ at you, barely anything there.” A smirk came across Daryl’s face as he said this.

Rick waves me over to the table, and I hesitantly accept his offer. Maggie gets up, and just when I’m thinking I completely freaked her out last night, she sets a plate of food in front of me and takes the seat adjacent to mine. I’m trying to come up with something to say about last night, to explain my irrational outburst, but am interrupted by Daryl.

“Well, you gonna’ eat that, or are we going to have to force feed you.”

Maggie turns to him and jokingly says “Daryl, be nice.”

“What, have you seen how skinny she is?”

I start eating and am shocked at what I bite into; I wouldn’t forget this taste in a million years. Waffles. While there isn’t any syrup, the taste is much better than the berries I had been eating, which I’m not even sure were edible. A smile forms on my face as the food fills my stomach.

“Where did you get these?” I ask.

“We got them on one of the runs. I think it’s the best find we’ve had at a grocery store in a while.” Maggie is the one who answers me.

“My mother used to make waffles every Sunday. Around Christmas time she would make gingerbread waffles. And she always had pecan syrup.” Even I was surprised that I had said this. Sure, I’d told them about how my mother died, but when was the last time I actually talked about my mother, about life before any of this happened? I started shaking my head. “I’m sorry, you probably didn’t want to know that.”

“No, that’s fine. I like hearing about our lives before walkers took over…it’s nice to remember the world for what it was.” 

I finish eating and Sasha takes the plate. I glance through the crack in the window and realize that the sun is almost done rising. I quickly get up and go outside, no one follows. They must have been able to sense that I wanted to be alone. Watching the sunrise is something I had done before the apocalypse, and it is something I had done almost everyday since. I think it helps keep me attached to the old world, to remember who I am and not got lost in the confusion of the world today. I watch as the sun rises above the trees, and for the first time I realize that I can actually enjoy it and won’t have to worry about running.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am putting this story on hiatus as I work on my other story, "A Fighting Chance."

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